


diligence is a virtue (that christopher shaldred has been living with for many years)

by WattStalf



Series: Seven Heavenly Virtues [18]
Category: Baccano!
Genre: F/M, PWP, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: I got caught up in a beautiful memory, and I’m so nostalgic now, and you’re already right here…
Relationships: Ricardo Russo/Christopher Shaldred
Series: Seven Heavenly Virtues [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/502477
Kudos: 2





	diligence is a virtue (that christopher shaldred has been living with for many years)

Ricardo stands behind him, watching as he works, and he can practically sense her impatience. She would never admit to anything like that, of course, but Christopher knows her all too well by now, and he knows how to read her moods, no matter what direction they may be leaning in. It has always been hard for her to keep things from him, and it grows more and more difficult, the longer that they live together.

“You’re working hard,” she says, after a prolonged silence, probably trying to decide what to say to make it seem like she is not interested in when he will finish. She is absolutely terrible at hiding her true intentions from him.

“I’m getting a good start this year, so that our garden will be absolutely overflowing before long,” he informs her, before returning his attention to the dirt in front of him. A certain level of diligence must go into everything he does, of course, but by now, he is only pretending to pay attention to what he is doing, wanting to see how long it will take for Ricardo, in her impatience, to snap.

It is always an adorable struggle to watch, as she tries to decide which is more important to her- getting her way, or avoiding letting Christopher figure out just how desperate she is for him. He figures her out either way, but she does not know that part, probably thinking that she is able to keep in the dark as long as she does not start to hint at what she wants from him. As if she really has nothing better to do than watch him gardening, as if she would be doing this for any reason other than wanting him to stop and pay attention to her.

She is, perhaps, the neediest young woman in the world, and over the years, Christopher has been lucky enough to be the only one she wants to tend to her needs.

It started so long ago, when she first began to blossom, so to speak. Her interest in him had been so painfully obvious, especially in an otherwise sullen and stoic young lady, and even his bouts of self-loathing were not enough to convince him that she did not want him. All he had to do was lay the proper trap to get it out of her, and then, all he had to do was let things run their natural course, following along with it and doing whatever she wanted, as any good best friend would.

Friends with benefits or friends to lovers- no matter how one might want to spin it, the two of them were inseparable before they started fucking and have been inseparable since then, and it is becoming more and more clear that this is not just a childish crush or a way to work out the sexual frustrations that come with blossoming into a young woman. And, for Christopher, it is certainly about more than just helping his friend and young charge with her frustrations, and about more than teasing her and seeing how far he can push her, seeing how she reacts to all these new situations.

Ricardo has never once told him that she is in love with him, and Christopher has never quite settled on if he should be allowed to confess his love to her. Instead, he just remains at her side as he always does, caring for her in a way that her family was never able to, and caring for her in a way that only a truly twisted man would take care of the young woman he was once hired to protect. There is no money exchanging hands; they live as a couple, whether they address it or not.

Love has not yet been spoken above, but he tends to Ricardo with the same diligence that he tends to his garden with, and he takes care of her needs and he teases and pushes her just to see how she will grow, and he never considers leaving her side or moving on in any way. Ever since he met her, he has always been at her side. Somehow, she was the only one he could never simply leave behind, the one worth leaving everything else behind for, and to this day, he tends to her with the same diligence that he tends to his garden with, and it is hard to tell if she is any more or less successful than the plants under his care, or if there is any way to measure that.

And here he is, getting lost in thoughts and memories and sentimentalities, and he stands up without further show, dusting himself off, giving up on him game of pretending to care more about the dirt than her eyes boring into his back. “I can take a break,” he says, because he really can’t bring himself to ignore her, and at least this once, he can take care of her needs without flustering her into asking directly.

Ricardo blushes and mutters, “You don’t have to…”

“But I want to,” he replies. “I got caught up in a beautiful memory, and I’m so nostalgic now, and you’re already right here…” He can allow himself to get carried away this time, rather than waiting for her to show just enough initiative for him to pretend that what he does is alright. She is not a child anymore, anyway, or at least she is less of a child than she was when they started this.

He can kiss her and undress her right outside, and while she protests that somebody might see, he can tease her and say he does not care, that he has to have her right here and now, and while she blushes and gives up putting up a fuss, just glad to be wanted, he can tell her how beautiful she is, what a fine young lady that she has become, all while he fucks her into the dirt. While she pretends not to be elated, barely able to hide it from him, with life and light in her eyes that he never thought he would see when they first met, he can consider telling her that he loves her, only to back off at the last second, letting it remain unspoken on his lips.

But if she ever decides that she wants to confess to him, he is not sure if he will be able to hold back at that time. Until then, however, he will hold back, and continue tending to her with his usual diligence, allowing himself this one chance to get carried away in the garden.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  
> 


End file.
